Putin suggests Russia and Ukraine have 'direct' talks next week

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for "direct talks" with Ukraine, saying they should "start without delay, as early as 15 May".

"We seek serious talks... to remove the root causes of the conflict and start moving towards a lasting, strong peace", he said on Saturday, in a rare televised late-night address from the Kremlin.

It comes hours after European leaders - including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron - visited Ukraine and urged Russia to agree to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

In response, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said Moscow would "have to think this through" - but warned that "trying to pressure us is quite useless".

Polluted airport water 'destroyed my unborn lambs'

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BBC Farmer David Thornley claims his breeding ewes lost pedigree lambs after drinking polluted water

A pedigree livestock farmer plans to take legal action against East Midlands Airport, claiming a leaking pipe polluted the brook that runs through his rented grazing land. David Thornley claims 25 of his 100 ewes lost their valuable pedigree lambs after drinking from Diseworth Brook in Leicestershire in 2022. In April, East Midlands International Airport Ltd pleaded guilty to charges of exceeding the limits of its environmental permits when it released water containing chemicals from holding ponds in January and February 2022. The airport denies any link between the discharge and bacterial pollution in the brook.

The airport says the issues raised by Mr Thornley "do not form any part of the evidence in the case that the Environment Agency has brought to court"

Environmental studies show de-icing chemicals, washed from airport runways, can affect water quality because they encourage the growth of "sewage fungus", or "undesirable river biofilms". With more than 20 years' experience as a prize-winning breeder, Mr Thornley says typically he would expect to lose just 2-3% of pregnancies after embryo transfer. So in January 2022, when veterinary scans showed 25% of his impregnated ewes were no longer carrying lambs, he began to investigate. Approaching Diseworth Brook, he says he was hit by a smell that "took your breath away". He took photos of the brook covered in a brown substance, which he now believes was sewage fungus. When he and his son walked upstream, they found "black sludge" emerging from an outlet pipe below the airport's holding ponds. "There was nothing coming from above [that part of] the stream," he says. "It was clear as clear, and it smelt lovely until it got to that pipe."

'Small leak identified'

Mr Thornley immediately reported his pollution concerns to the Environment Agency (EA), which attended the following day. When he contacted the airport in January 2022, its reply, seen by the BBC, confirmed: "There was an incident... where a small leak was identified into Diseworth Brook." The airport said in its email to Mr Thornley it was working with the EA, which was "now happy the issue had been resolved and there were no further impacts to the local watercourse". In February 2022, Mr Thornley asked a specialist company to take water samples. The laboratory results showed the water was polluted with bacteria and unfit for livestock to drink. However, the results did not prove a link between the bacteria and airport de-icing chemicals.

David Thornley Mr Thornley took photos of Diseworth Brook in January 2022

"It's devastating," says Mr Thornley. "[Losing the lambs] has a big impact on the family. You can't replace those bloodlines or that breeding overnight. It's tens of years of breeding and investment to breed the right quality stock." Mr Thornley is asking for compensation of £50,000. The EA asked Mr Thornley to give evidence in its case against the airport. But that evidence was never heard. The agency told the farmer he was no longer required after the airport's lawyers unexpectedly entered guilty pleas to three of six charges at a pre-trial review. The EA says those charges relate to the discharge of contaminated wastewater into the River Trent between 14 January 2022 and 4 February 2022, but declined to comment or give more detail until sentencing on 25 July.

David Thornley The outlet pipe below the airport's balancing ponds has now had a plug installed

Mr Thornley said airport staff had seemed sympathetic in initial meetings. For two years, the airport paid his rent for extra grazing land to keep his stock away from the brook between November and April. Those are the months when the airport has EA permits to discharge water containing de-icing chemicals from balancing ponds holding run-off from its runways. But Mr Thornley says the airport is now refusing to continue the rental arrangement and claims he has not had a reply to letters from his insurance company lawyers. He says he no longer trusts the airport to keep him informed about water quality and will continue to keep his livestock away from the brook from November to April.

'Victorian legacy'

The EA's case against the airport was supported by members of the Derby Railway Angling Club, who blame de-icing chemicals for causing large plumes of sewage fungus in the River Trent and threatening rare fish. Before he retired, member Gary Cyster was a senior fisheries inspector for the EA. He says he is disappointed that the agency did not pursue three further charges against the airport, including one linking airport chemical discharges to plumes of sewage fungus in the River Trent. "Sewage fungus is like a legacy from the Victorian times," he says. "We shouldn't be seeing any sewage fungus. If effluent is going into the River Trent, there should be a finite limit for BOD [biological oxygen demand]."

Former Environment Agency inspector Gary Cyster says watercourses are being routinely polluted by airport chemicals

Mr Cyster says the Trent is home to some of the rarest fish in the country, including the spined loach and the bullhead, and these could be threatened by sewage fungus and low oxygen levels caused by de-icing chemicals. He says he has research indicating that East Midlands Airport is the only airport in the country which does not have a finite BOD limit for discharging into a major river. Instead its "load-based" EA permit says that discharges should not have "adverse effects" on plants or animals in the water and that there should be "no significant adverse visual effect". "We feel like the River Trent has been sold down the river," he says. He is also concerned about the airport's continuing expansion and plans for the East Midlands Freeport. "This is going to affect all the watercourses around the area. So it's about time that we had a modern treatment works there and they stop this pollution."

What the airport says

East Midlands Airport said: "We take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and work closely with the Environment Agency on the operation of our water drainage system. "We are aware of Mr Thornley's concerns, take them seriously and have always responded to his correspondence. "However, the issues he raises do not form any part of the evidence in the case that the Environment Agency has brought to court. "The pollutants identified in the sample testing he undertook are not found in the de-icer products used by the airport but were instead contaminants associated with sewage, which the airport does not discharge to the brook. "We are unable to comment further until the case reaches its full conclusion."

How do de-icing chemicals affect streams and rivers?

For safety reasons, UK airports routinely use de-icing chemicals during winter months to protect aircraft and runways. They pose a pollution danger, so airports are required to have treatment systems in place. Discharges should be monitored by the environmental regulator. Bangor University researcher Dr Ben Exton investigated the impact of de-icing chemicals such as propylene glycol for his PhD. He likens the effect of these chemicals on water-born bacteria to offering hungry humans a roomful of fattening fast food. "It's a bit like an unlimited flood of burgers... [the bacteria] grow extremely quickly, and as they grow, they deplete dissolved oxygen and stress other species," he says. "They blanket the river bed, and that kills off other things in the river." Numerous studies have shown de-icing chemicals cause habitat loss and poor water quality for invertebrates and fish. "It's been going on for years," says Dr Exton. "It's really difficult to treat the de-icer contaminated water because, unlike things like sewage, it comes in fluxes. "Biological systems that break down these compounds don't ramp up and down well." A document on East Midlands Airport's website flags de-icing chemicals as a "challenge". The document outlines its permit limits and how it treats the run-off in winter and summer ponds to protect local waterways. Its guilty pleas last month relate to breaching those permits.

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.

'Criminal migrants to be kicked out' and Trump Inc's cover shot

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The Observer, fresh from a recent takeover, continues its new style of full-page front page photographs with a striking picture of US President Donald Trump's dynasty, showing his children and their spouses. A magazine-style headline, trailing to a full piece inside the paper, reads "The firm: Trump Inc and the new age of corruption".

Many of Sunday's papers lead on the government's new immigrations plans. "Commit any crime and you're out, migrants to be warned", the Daily Mail says under what it calls a "planned government crackdown". The Home Office will be "told of all foreign nationals convicted of any offence", with officials given "wider powers" to remove them from the UK, the paper says.

The Sunday Express also leads on immigration, but on migrants' lawyers "abusing the system". The paper says foreign criminals will not be able to abuse what it calls "controversial human rights laws" under new government plans. According to the Express, the plans will be the "biggest overhaul of immigration laws since Brexit".

"I was off my nut on EastEnders", reads the Sun's headline on what it labels a Danny Dyer exclusive. The former soap star says he was on prescription drugs, such as valium and diazepam during his time on the show, and according to the paper, "blasted co-stars, scripts and BBC bosses" for what he calls "not much duty of care". The accompanying story does reveal these claims did not come during a face-to-face interview with the Sun, but rather an on-stage rant made by Dyer at a recent charity event.

In more TV news, the Sunday People goes remarkably early with its speculation of who will be appearing in the 23rd series of Strictly Come Dancing from this September. The paper's sources suggest that reality star and 2017's I'm a Celebrity queen of the jungle Georgia "Toff" Toffolo will be getting on her dance shoes. The People also tips the son of a real-life queen - Queen Camilla's eldest child, Tom Parker Bowles - to be another contestant.

The Sunday Telegraph claims retired policeman Julian Foulkes was arrested and cautioned in 2023 for a "thought crime" after challenging a supporter of pro-Palestinian marches on X. Police body-worn camera footage showed officers looking through his books including titles by Douglas Murray at his home in Kent, it adds. "Free speech is clearly under attack", the former special constable says. A police spokesperson tells the Telegraph the caution was "not appropriate in the circumstances and should not have been issued".

The Sunday Times runs with a lead story on businessman Graham King - known as the "Asylum King" - who it says has become a billionaire after "profits soared" for his migrant-housing firm. The Times says he has recorded a 35% jump in his fortune, which has landed him a spot on the paper's Rich List. It also talks about the government's new plans on immigration.

The Sunday Mirror splashes with a story on the Duchess of Sussex's dad, who they say has a "new life... a world away from hers". According to the paper, Thomas Markle rents a "£500-a-month apartment in the Philippines" with his son.

And finally, the Daily Star decides to have some fun with what it calls "frisky farmers" and a poll suggesting that nearly 70% of them think they are - in the paper's words - "best in bed". Accompanying it is a cheekily Photoshopped picture of TV celebrity farmer Jeremy Clarkson in a straw hat, lying atop a bale of hay.